Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi left here on Monday for the second round of the China-U.S. Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) in Washington, which is aimed at easing trade friction between China and the United States.

The talks which start on May 22 will focus on opening the service industry, investment and transparency, energy and environmental protection, as well as balanced economic growth and innovation.

The dialogue, one of the main channels for China and the U.S. to exchange views on economic and trade issues, is aimed at achieving progress in market access for U.S. goods into China, said Tao Wenzhao, a research fellow in American studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

"China fully realizes the importance of the SED in maintaining stable two-way trade relations," said Cao Honghui, visiting scholar with the University of Colombia.

China's currency reform is also expected to be discussed at the economic talks. China's central bank announced that effective Monday it has widened the band within which the yuan can fluctuate from 0.3 percent to 0.5 percent a day.

Despite critics saying China is keeping the yuan undervalued, analysts agree the Chinese government will follow its own pace of reforming the country's exchange rate system.

The yuan has appreciated by about 7 percent against the dollar since July 21, 2005, when China scrapped its yuan-dollar peg.

The Chinese delegation includes dozens of directors from more than ten government departments, including the ministries of commerce, finance, sci-technology, the central bank and the environmental protection administration. They are scheduled to meet with members of the U.S. Congress to discuss bilateral trade and economic issues.

Wu and U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson will co-chair the dialogue. Wu is also scheduled to deliver a speech to the U.S. Congress, which is expected to promote greater understanding of China's economic and trade policies.

Analysts expressed optimism at the possible outcome of the talks, saying they are also an opportunity to build trust between China and the United States.

China and the United States held their first strategic economic dialogue last December in Beijing.

Source: Xinhua